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Press Releases

The communications office of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin provides media with timely, accurate information about the Wildflower Center. Below are recent press releases related to Center events and to staff expertise on conservation practices, native plant gardening, nature education, and native plant resources and research findings. For more information or photos beyond those on the newsroom site, please contact:

Background: On Oct.11, the Center commemorates the 2002 opening of its Ann and O.J. Weber Butterfly Garden. The half-acre garden showcases about 300 native plant species — almost half those displayed on site. Visitors are encouraged to celebrate the diverse habitats in the garden during the following events:

Oct. 13 and 14 from 1 to 2 p.m. during the Fall Plant Sale & Gardening Festival, tour the garden with its caretaker, Horticulturist Samantha Elkinton. Visit wildflower.org for admission prices and details.

Oct. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m., tour the garden and learn its details as part of a $30 Butterfly Gardening Workshop with its designer, Judy Walther of Environmental Survey Consulting. Register beforehand for this Go Native U course.

Oct. 17 from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m., a free tour of this and other gardens at the center will occur for Texas Native Plant Week. Andrea DeLong-Amaya, the center’s horticulture director, will lead the tour and talk about native plants at 6:30 p.m. in the Auditorium.

Oct. 20 and 21 at The Store, receive 20 percent off all butterfly merchandise.

Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. during Goblins in the Garden, children dressed as insects can participate in a costume parade to commemorate the Butterfly Garden anniversary.

The Butterfly Garden resulted from a generous gift from the O.J. and Ann Weber Family Foundation Fund of the Greater Houston Community Foundation. Unlike enclosed butterfly houses, the outdoor garden provides visitors with a chance to see Gulf Fritillary, Queen and other butterflies in their natural setting. A central pond contains fish and frogs, and draws dragonflies and other creatures. A recently remodeled Insectary building provides an opportunity to see the larval and adult stages of moths and butterflies. The garden includes interpretive signage that demonstrates the types of habitat that different butterflies rely on and the dependence of native plants on these and other pollinators to reproduce.

The garden surrounds the McDermott Learning Center, where indoor nature art exhibits occur year round to complement sculpture exhibits within the gardens. The McDermott Learning Center’s 10th year anniversary also is being celebrated this October.